Danica Patrick stalled her engine in the pits, spun out on a re-start and still finished 4th in the Indianapolis 500. Her most impressive move, however, may have been when she took a hit in the side at full speed and held the car steady as it headed into the turn. Open wheel racing is designed to push the limits of ground speed and the cars are exceptionally susceptible to even slight contact. Danica’s control over her Indy Car reminded me of all those Japanese animation stories where a tiny human sits at the controls of a massive robot. It was a transforming performance.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a cash machine for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) as well as for numerous sponsors and even NASCAR itself, but earlier this week DEI changed Jr.’s Crew Chief which is clear sign of problems within the organization. In the middle of the Coca Cola 600, Dale Jr. wrecks team mate Michael Waltrip and the accident also takes out former winner Matt Kenseth and Terry Labonte. It was a totally unprofessional move by Jr.
NASCAR racing is designed to allow a level of contact between cars but recently races have begun to resemble a drawn out demolition derby. In a classic example of the law of unintended consequences, the safety changes NASCAR implemented after the death of Dale Earnhardt appear to have increased aggressive driving tactics. Tonight’s race had a record 22 cautions before Jimmy Johnson emerged from the war of attrition for his unprecedented 3rd consecutive Coca Cola 600 victory. NASCAR is very good at changing the engineering details in the rule book, but they need to start addressing road rage. Rubbing is racing but bad driving is just pathetic.
